Christine E. Hunnicutt

Christine Hunnicutt, 64, of Kearney, died Tuesday, November 22, 2016 at her home. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 am Monday, November 28, 2016 at St. James Catholic Church. The Rev. Art Faesser will officiate. Interment will be in the Kearney Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5-7 pm Sunday at O’Brien Straatmann Redinger Funeral Home. Memorials are suggested to the family for future designation. "There's a feeling I get when I look to the west and my spirit is crying for leaving." A young lady, newly graduated and ready to embark on life out west, reflected on those lyrics in the Led Zeppelin song "Stairway to Heaven" and felt the pull to leave Pennsylvania and come to Nebraska, leading her to Kearney. Chris did not immediately begin a career in teaching, but she served with care and compassion for the disabled as the Basic Skills Coordinator at Mid-Nebraska Mental Retardation Services in Kearney. Within a short time, she was hired as a new teacher at Kearney Junior High School where she built a foundation in education that would last 40 years. She eventually transferred to Kearney Senior High School and taught English, earning the admiration and respect of many students, their parents, and her colleagues. Chris's students earned numerous awards under her guidance. In addition, she herself won numerous awards for her excellence in teaching. Chris was recognized with the prestigious honor of the Teachers Presidential Scholarship Award in Washington, D.C. She was also selected as the Teacher of the Year by the Kearney Public Schools Foundation. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln recognized Chris for having a positive influence on her students academically which prepared them for college. Chris was a member of and served as Vice President and President of Alpha Delta Kappa as well as head of the scholarship committee. She encouraged her students to always look forward and consider the possibilities of their actions and outcomes. Her Academic Decathlon teams often took top honors at regional and state competitions. Chris traveled with students and her husband to England where she showed them many places that were the roots of the British literature she taught and so loved. The greatest travel moment was to Romania for the adoption of a daughter for whom she and her husband had long hoped. Having her daughter with her in school and her classes was a great privilege for both of them. Remodeling and restoring old houses with her husband was a secondary passion which took them through a number of interesting projects that proved to be both fun and challenging. The greatest remodel resulted in their current home that she so loved. She also loved books and researched many materials to fulfill her understanding of academics and the nature of life itself. She was firm in her religious beliefs and respected the fallibility of human life and redemption of it to its greatest potential. Christine E. Hunnicutt was born to Frank and Adell Ernharth in McKees Rock, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 9, 1952. She graduated from Montour High School in McKees Rock in 1970, and earned her Bachelor's Degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1973. In 1976 she earned her Master's Degree in English also from Indiana University of Pennslyvania. On July 25, 1981, she married Gerald Hunnicutt. After 35 years of marriage, she left behind her husband, Gerald Hunnicutt; daughter, Emma Hunnicutt; sisters Joyce Johnson of Rockville, Maryland, and Carol Panagoulis of Kissimmee, Florida; father-in-law, Glenn Hunnicutt and mother-in-law, Nadine Hunnicutt of Hastings, Nebraska; along with numerous brothers and sisters-in-law, cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.

Christine E. Hunnicutt

September 9, 1952 - November 22, 2016